


Hearts in the Clouds

by smilebouquet



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: (barely), (sort of?), 5+1 Things, ??? - Freeform, Attempt at Humor, Awkward Flirting, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Heart-to-Heart, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Male-Female Friendship, Not a lot tho, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Romance, Sickfic, Strangers to Lovers, only it's characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22308160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smilebouquet/pseuds/smilebouquet
Summary: You'd think that playing the sister role meant Snivy would be the most sensible when it came to everything. Well, she's not. At least, not when when her relationship with a certain water-type is concerned… Everyone learns this the hard way.(or: five pokémon who think Snivy and Oshawott should stop being so stubborn about their 'feelings' for each other.)[ShellPWNageShipping]
Relationships: Emonga | Emolga & Pokabu | Tepig, Mijumaru | Oshawott & Tsutarja | Snivy, Mijumaru | Oshawott/Tsutarja | Snivy
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Innocent Intentions...?

**Author's Note:**

> it's almost 5AM and i wanna sleep so i'll add more to this note later.
> 
> **Innocent Intentions…?** — It’s hard being the most astute pokémon in the group, but Emolga tries. Now, if only her rival could put in the same amount of effort…

Emolga watched as Oshawott used a Razor Shell attack to neatly slice the stem connecting the apple and the tree branch. He landed on his feet nimbly, catching the apple with his free hand. Emolga clapped lightly. His performance was already better than the other time he tried to get her apples…

"An apple for the apple of my eye," Oshawott announced smoothly, holding up said fruit.

"Why, thank you!" she cooed, accepting his offer. She batted her eyelashes. "Though you shouldn't have to work so hard for little old me…"

Oshawott winked. "You deserve only the best," he said. "And the best of the best is me~"

Emolga inwardly cringed. Gosh, for such a tiny pokémon, he sure had a large ego. Regardless, an apple is an apple. Besides… Emolga sneaked a glance around. Her eyes locked with a certain grass snake, and she grinned sneakily as she carefully angled the apple in her hands so that the other could see it just barely. Said grass snake narrowed her eyes and scowled before tossing her head to watch Axew and Scraggy's game of tag.

Emolga's grin widened. It always amused her how so little could set her off. Oh, if only Snivy herself knew the reason as well as Emolga did… She took a bite out of her apple, relishing its juiciness and almost crumbly texture. Oh, how delectable! Cilan's food was great, but nothing could compare to the sweetness of an apple~

"Hi, Emolga, Oshawott!" a voice called. Emolga looked up, mildly annoyed at being pulled out of her reverie.

Oshawott brightened. "Tepig!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here—"

"Yes, yes. That's, um, nice. Hey, Emolga! Can we talk, please?" Pointedly, Tepig looked at Oshawott. "In private."

Oshawott pouted, his cheerfulness gone. "Aww, no fair! I got to her first!"

Emolga twitched, though neither notice.

"I promise I'm not trying to, um," Tepig grimaced, "steal her love away from you. I just needed to ask her about…" He looked around. His eyes settled on the apple curiously, which Emolga pulled closer to her. "…apples. Yes. Because she's an expert and I was hoping to find some with her help."

"You could have just asked Sni—"

"She's busy sunbathing," Tepig said, without missing a beat. Without waiting for another reply, he began to shove Emolga deeper into the trees with his snout. "Come on, then."

"H-Hey!" Emolga protested, dropping her apple. "Let me walk on my own!"

The shoving stopped. "Sorry," Tepig said meekly, trotting next to her.

They walked right past the apple tree.

* * *

"I know this isn't about apples," Emolga said once Tepig had deemed them far enough from prying eyes. Or ears. She put her hands on her hips. "This better be important. I was _really_ enjoying that apple."

"I mean, this kind of has something to do with that?" Tepig said, looking nervous all of a sudden. He took a deep breath, steeling himself before looking Emolga in the eye. "I noticed that you've been manipulating Oshawott into getting you apples."

Emolga raised an eyebrow. "I'm not? _He's_ the one flirting with me."

"Regardless, you're still letting him do it even though you clearly don't like him that much. So, why do you do it? It's... Okay, this may sound kind of stupid." He exhaled sharply, letting out a small puff of fire. "Snivy doesn't like what you're doing. She's really upset. I don't think I've ever seen her that upset before," he said quietly. "I just don't see any reason for you to continue if the only benefit to this is getting free apples. I'll get the apples for you if it means you'll stop playing with Oshawott's feelings and being enemies with Snivy." His ears drooped. "I just want everyone to get along."

Emolga stared at the fire pig for a few seconds before she began laughing her head off.

Tepig's face fell. "What's so funny?"

"Snivy's— Snivy's upset?" she guffawed, clutching her stomach. "Oh boy, I must've really done it, huh…!"

As soon as she had started, she immediately stopped.

"You think I'm just doing it because I want apples?" she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "No, it's far more than that."

Tepig blinked. "Then...?"

"My dear Tepig, have you ever stopped to think about why Snivy was so upset with me?"

"No..."

Emolga shook her head, chuckling. Oh, to be as dense as a rock... Ironic, considering what Tepig's typing was. "It's because she's being an idiot."

"Huh?"

"It's so obvious! Don't you notice the longing stares? The jealousy in Snivy's eyes _and_ when she grits her teeth? It's beautiful. I can't wait for it to hit her like a Rock Slide."

Tepig broke into a cold sweat. "Um, Emolga? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Emolga stared unblinkingly, before shaking her head. Yep, as dense as a rock. She lowered her voice. "I'm saying that our dear Snivy has a crush on Oshawott."

Tepig jumped back. "She does?" He did a double take. "Wait, you mean you want to get them together?"

"Getting them together is a little bit much for little old me," she said, examining her claws. "I just want our resident ice queen to stop being so stubborn with her own feelings."

Tepig's ears skyrocketed. "So you _don't_ flirt with Oshawott because you're taking advantage of him?"

"I never said there weren't any benefits," Emolga snickered. "I do think Oshawott's kind of cute; he's just too simple-minded for my tastes. Besides," she grinned cheekily, "chances to aggravate Snivy only come once in a blue moon, so of course I'm gonna use it to its fullest potential!"

Tepig rolled his eyes. "I should have known you didn't actually have good intentions…"

"Who said I wasn't doing this for their benefit, either? In case you missed the memo: the otter gets my attention, I get my apples, and the snake gets to agonise over how hopelessly in love she is with him! It's

foolproof~"

He sighed. "That's not a good intention…"

Emolga huffed. "I mean it in the nicest of ways. Trust me, it's better if she realises sooner than later," she said. "Love can be painful, but it's even more painful when you don't know what that stabbing in your chest is. You just keep asking yourself, 'What is this feeling?' and you keep thinking 'I can't possibly be in love,' but before you know it, the apple of your eye has been taken, and you realise that it _was_ love. And it's too late." Her voice was wavering, but she found that she couldn't stop it. "So, yeah."

Silence fell between them, and it stretched painfully. It rang in her ears and sent her heart into palpitations. Did she say too much? Was she being too emotional? Tepig was going to laugh at her, isn't he? Gosh, why did she even…?

She opened her mouth to say "forget it," but he beat her to it.

"I'm sorry."

It was said quietly, in that characteristically Tepig politeness. In hindsight, she should have seen it coming — when has Tepig been anything _but_ understanding?

"For what?" she asked, though, deep down, she already knew the answer.

"For, um, whatever happened to make you say that. It must've been really hard for you. And for thinking you were shallow." He smiled at her shyly. "You're nicer than I thought. In your own way."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Emolga grumbled, feigning irritation despite the faint fluttering of her heart.

"And I guess I'll let this slide as long as you don't take it too far. But if you do…" He spread his front legs slightly into a battle stance, crouching lower, and blew a stream of red-hot fire out of his nose threateningly.

She waved a hand. "Yeah, whatever." When he relaxed, she leaned in, her grin oddly sinister. "Of course, if you still want to get me apples, I wouldn't mind…"

Tepig gulped, and backed away slightly. "I only offered so you'd stop leading Oshawott on, and it seems like you don't plan on stopping anytime soon, so…"

Emolga pouts. "Spoilsport. I was hoping you'd say yes." Her hands grazed the bottom of his snout. Her hooded eyes flickered with playfulness. "…And not just because I want more apples."

She immediately dropped the act and straightened. "Well, let's go back, shall we?" she said, smiling nonchalantly.

Tepig didn't say anything for a few seconds, only stare at Emolga with eyes as wide as poké balls and a blush as bright red as the apples she loved. Emolga held a hand daintily to her mouth to hide the snicker bubbling in her throat. His expression! Would Oshawott react the same way if she tried that on him? Oh, wouldn't she like to know. Snivy would be so pissed!

"Tepig?" she said in a low voice, partly because she doesn't want to startle him, and mostly because she was taking in the little details of his expression. Wouldn't _that_ be a good one to remember for reference? It wasn't because she thinks Tepig is mildly cute. Nope. Not at all.

Snapping out of his daze, Tepig blinked rapidly before looking up at Emolga and smiling wanly. "O-Oh, yes! S-Sorry, I got distracted for a second," he apologised, already walking back the way they came. "Shall we?"

"Sure!"

Alright, maybe Tepig wasn't so bad to be with.

* * *

("Hey, Emolga?"

"Hm?"

"What were you smiling about just now?"

"Oh, nothing~"

Tepig narrowed his eyes at her curiously. Suddenly, his cheeks reddened, and he whipped his head away.

_So much for not falling for Emolga's tricks,_ he thought bitterly.)


	2. Beloved Melancholy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oshawott thinks he can sleep off a poison ailment. Good thing Pikachu and the others are there for him. Speaking of Pikachu, the mouse is trying to solve a dilemma of his own...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had fun w/ this chapter! which is exactly why it's a little over 3k words lol
> 
> inspired by the time i caught the flu and it was so bad i thought, "death would be better at this point." (or maybe i was just dramatic...)
> 
> other notes:  
> \- there's some pokéspeak here, but it's the japanese pokéspeak because i grew up with the japanese dub so it's what i'm more used to. please understand.  
> \- not 100% satisfied with the title of this chapter so i may change it in the future!

"Something's wrong with Oshawott," Pikachu murmured, nibbling on his pellet as he kept an eye on him.

He wouldn't call himself the most observant of the group, but honestly. Anyone would have been able to see the changes in his behaviour. Especially if it was poking at his food instead of shoving it into his mouth like a snorlax. Or dumping the rest of his pellets into Tepig's bowl with a grimace. Tepig looked up at him with an eyebrow raised, but nevertheless accepted the extra food and dug in once more.

Yep. Something was wrong.

He knew a certain other pokémon thought so too, if her fleeting glances were any indication. They even locked eyes once, and though she scowled and turned away, Pikachu knew beneath the ice-cold glare was a pokémon who only wanted to protect her friends.

(It really didn't matter how hard she tried to hide it — it was as obvious as her distaste for Emolga.)

Still, he wondered why Snivy seemed so hesitant on showing that. The concept had always been confusing to him, no matter how many pokémon he'd met that were like that. If she cared so much, why hide it? That sort of behaviour only sent mixed signals.

Pikachu shook his head, dispelling the thought. Now wasn't the time to contemplate. Now was the time to make sure Oshawott was all right.

~ ✿ — ✿ — ✿ ~

"I'm fine," the otter answered once Pikachu actually asked. "I didn't get any sleep last night, so I'm a little tired."

He didn't _sound_ fine. Apparently, Snivy thought so too.

"Bullshit," she muttered from behind them before raising her voice a smidge to say, "You were the first one out. I would know; your snoring kept me up all night."

An exaggeration. Pikachu himself was able to sleep like a log, despite being right next to the guy. Then again, Snivy was notorious for being a light sleeper - a trait that came hand in hand with her protectiveness.

She turned to the otter. "So, fess up." She paused, and her eyes widened by a fraction. "Hey, are you okay? Why is your face getting more purple?"

 _It is?_ Pikachu rubbed his eyes and squinted. Not that he really needed to. Although it was mostly obscured by the white fur, there was definitely an unnatural violet tinge on his cheeks. Oshawott was beginning to sway on the spot, too.

"It's nothing!" he cried, pulling away when Snivy brought her face closer to get a better look. By now, everyone had their eyes on them. "I'll sleep it off, see?" As if on cue, he crumpled to the ground, face contorted in pain.

_"_ _Oshawott!"_

* * *

"It's poison."

All the pokémon let out a collective gasp. From his place next to Snivy, Pikachu merely shook his head, while the grass snake pinched the bridge of her nose. Of course.

"Poison?" Ash parroted. "Like, from a pokémon?"

Cilan nodded. "Same symptoms as everyone else had when they were affected by Foongus' Poison Powder," he explained. His voice was calm but the worry creasing his eyebrows betrayed it. "Though I've never seen such a delayed reaction before... And Oshawott's symptoms are worse."

"And we're still far from the next Pokémon Centre…" Iris murmured, biting her thumb and closing her eyes to think for a moment. When she opened them again, she was all business. "Cilan, can you check for any nearby Pecha berry trees?"

The connoisseur typed something into his navigator. It beeped before several dots flickered onto the screen. "There's a clearing full of them, though it's quite far from here."

"I'll go!"

"I'll go with Iris," Ash offered. Iris smiled.

"We should split up, then. I'll look after Oshawott, while you two find the Pecha berries."

Pikachu appreciated the air of rationality Cilan seemed to carry. Sure, he was a little eccentric, but when it came down to it, he was the man with the plan! It was certainly a stark contrast to Ash…. As much as he loved his trainer, he had to admit that 'Ash' and 'logic' mixed as well as oil and water.

…Cilan must be rubbing off of him.

By the time he snapped out of his thoughts, Ash was already holding out his pokéballs with the intent of returning the remaining pokémon to their respective pokéballs. "Everyone, return!"

Iris did the same, then crouched down to pick Axew up. "Come on, Axew."

To his surprise, Snivy, who hadn't moved since Oshawott collapsed, jumped out of the way of the red beam of light as everyone else dematerialised. She ran back to Oshawott and held out her arms protectively, frowning. Similarly, Axew took a step away from Iris, his line of sight flickered between her and Snivy.

"I think they wanna stay with Oshawott," Iris hummed, turning to the duo. "Isn't that right?"

"Taaja," Snivy said curtly, averting her eyes.

Axew twiddled his fingers, looking guilty. "Kiba…"

"Don't feel bad, Axew. Just stay here if you want, okay?" she cooed, petting his head. Axew nodded, though his expression made it evident that he was still conflicted.

Cilan turned to Pansage. "Pansage, go help them out," he ordered, holding out his navigator.

Pansage gave him a thumbs up and took it.

"—help Snivy watch over everyone, okay buddy?"

Oh, Ash was talking to him.

"Pika pika, Pikapi!" Pikachu gave his trainer a salute, and jumped off his shoulder to join the snake and the dragon.

* * *

Pikachu looked at the path his other friends had treaded through and sighed. One hour since he last saw them…

He turned to glimpse at the camp site. Snivy sat next to the otter, one hand curled around Axew's. Even from the rock he was standing on, he could see the tremors wracking the dragon's tiny frame. Hopping down, he dashed towards the group.

"Hey!" he greeted, skidding to a stop. "How is he?"

He hadn't expected the dirty look she sent him.

"How do you think?" she snapped. "He hasn't moved since Cilan replaced the washcloth." Pikachu chose not to mention that said washcloth had only been replaced fifteen minutes ago.

He decided to take a look himself. A small pile of leaves — created from Snivy's Leaf Storm, he figured — propped up Oshawott's head. A damp washcloth was placed on his forehead, likely to bring down the fever he had developed. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his breathing was laboured. Beads of cold sweat clung to the individual strands of fur. The purple staining his face was deep, like the colour of Chesto berries. The washcloth began to slip from his forehead. Snivy whipped out a vine to pull it back in place.

"It's warm again," she remarked, frowning.

Pikachu picked up the cloth and dunked it into a nearby basin of water. He allowed the cool water to get absorbed before letting the excess drip off and folding it in half. As he placed it back on Oshawott's forehead, his fingers grazed the burning skin. He almost yelped.

"Arceus, that's hot!" he hissed, pulling his hand away and resisting the urge to dunk it into the basin. This was almost as bad as that pichu from Sinnoh…

Snivy's scowl softened as she turned to glance at the otter's face again, her brown eyes filled with concern. Pikachu observed the way her free hand brushed against Oshawott's paw. Hmm...

They continued to sit by the otter's side. Their silence was only interrupted by the rhythmic chopping of vegetables as Cilan prepared dinner. Axew continued to stare at the ground, his grip on Snivy's hand much looser. Snivy continued to watch Oshawott, her eyes fixed on his rising and falling chest.

Oshawott twitched.

Axew's breath hitched. His hand began to crush Snivy's.

The grass snake shook her head. "Axew, calm down. He'll be okay."

"But what if he—"

"There is no 'what if' to consider here. Oshawott will be okay, and that's final."

Axew's eyes wandered back to the otter's figure. "Okay…"

Pikachu shook his head. _Not even your cold tone will mask your true feelings this time, you stubborn snake._

Eventually, there was a grunt and the rusting of leaves as someone shifted their position. Axew was the first to notice.

"You're awake…!" he said in a hushed voice, as if anything louder would break him.

Pikachu used his paws to stabilise Oshawott's shaky figure as he tried to sit up. "How do you feel?" he asked.

Bleary-eyed, Oshawott opened his mouth to reply, but ended up launching into a coughing fit that left him gasping for air. Pikachu rushed to smack him on the back several times.

When the coughing ceased, he tried again. "How do you feel?"

Oshawott sucked in a breath. "Death would be a better option at this point." His face screwed up like he'd just eaten a lemon.

"So dramatic," Snivy grumbled.

"No, no, no, don't die!" Axew cried, distraught. He seemed to forget what Snivy had told him earlier. "Please don't die... please don't die!"

"He's not going anywhere," Snivy said, giving Axew's hand a weak squeeze.

Axew let out a high-pitched sob. "B-But...!"

"Axew..." Snivy bent down to look into his tear-bordered eyes. Her voice reminded him of Togekiss' — soft and gentle. It was a sharp contrast to the tart tone it normally held.

"Like I said, everything will be okay. Our trainers are searching for the Pecha berries to cure him as we speak. They will be back in no time. It will take a lot more than just poison to bring Oshawott down. After all…" Her mouth twitched into the slightest of smiles. "He's pretty strong."

Oshawott's frown spread into a loopy grin.

"Besides, you know it isn't that bad," Pikachu added. "We all got poisoned recently, remember? And look at us now!"

"...But Oshawott found the cure for us fast," Axew sniffed. "And Cilan said Oshawott was feeling really bad."

Drat. "I-It's like Snivy said; they'll be back soon," Pikachu reassured, doing his best to school his expression. He flashed the dragon a thumbs up. "So, yeah! No need to worry!"

Axew didn't look convinced.

"Hey."

He looked up. Oshawott's gaze locked with his.

"I'll get better," he said. "Sure, it hurts like hell—" Snivy's glare sent more chills down Pikachu's spine, even though it wasn't directed at him. Oshawott broke into a cold sweat. "Erm, a _lot_ , but I'll be okay."

Snivy put a hand on her hip, looking smug. "Heh. I remember when you said you would sleep off the poison," she said. "How do you feel now, after sleeping for, like, hours?"

Oshawott blushed, and it somehow overrode the purple on his face. "I didn't know it was poison when I said that!" he shot back, crossing his arms and huffing. The grass snake snickered in response.

Pikachu laughed. "See, Axew?" he said, smiling. "They're going back to their usual banter already!"

Axew glanced down at the hand still grasping his, then at Pikachu's thumbs up. He swiped at his eyes with his free hand.

"Okay," he whispered, his shoulders finally relaxing.

* * *

The blues of the sky were beginning to blend into pinks and oranges as the sun dipped below the horizon. By now, both Oshawott and Axew had fallen asleep, the latter curled up next to the former. Cilan had left, stating that he needed to replace the water in the basin as well as find some Oran berries for the stew.

Snivy stared at the path that led deeper into the forest - the same one Pikachu had been staring at earlier.

"They aren't back yet," she muttered.

"They probably haven't found anything to work with," he replied. "Strange, though. You'd expect a forest like this to be full of stuff like Pecha berries."

She shook her head.

"…You know it's okay to vocalise your worry for him, right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Or at least show it a little more. I know your aloofness is all an act."

Snivy huffed. "I'm not worried," she said, though her voice quivered, "and there's no 'act' to keep up. I know he's going to be fine, but…" She trailed off, her mouth pressed into a thin line. "Seeing Oshawott so still… it's jarring. I don't like it." She looked away, her cheeks dusted a light pink. "I feel stupid admitting it to you."

"Annnnnd there it is." Pikachu rolled his eyes. "Seriously, you're not a robot. Having emotions is okay. _Expressing_ them is okay. Show some vulnerability, for once!" His eyes narrowed to slits. "Unless you _are_ a robot. It would explain why you're so resilient in battle—"

To his surprise, she laughed. "Reshiram almighty, _no_. Where did you even get the idea? Living in the wild compelled me to learn how to defend myself, that's all."

"Really, now?"

"Yes, really." Her smile faded. "It also forced me to be alone. Back in the forest, it was always 'every pokémon for themselves', y'know? I guess I just never learned how to socialise," she admitted. "That may be why I seem like such a 'robot', as you said."

Huh, he hadn't expected that. The majority of pokémon _he_ knew were awfully friendly, even before their trainers caught them. Especially Buneary, the epitome of friendly. Maybe a little too much, even. He vividly remembered the first time she'd smothered him in a hug, singing a thousand praises.

Despite the sincerity her words seemed to carry, he couldn't help but feel like the grass snake was lying. It wouldn't be that hard for her, for she had the poker face of a slowpoke. Plus, she was already pretty vague about her past, never indulging the gang in details other than "I used to be a wild pokémon." It made one stop to ponder on what else that statement was masking from their prying eyes.

He knew that the beginnings of a friendship were beginning to bloom between her and Tepig, at any rate. The way he carried out hushed conversations with her without fear of falling victim to her sout attitude was one of the indicators. But as the eldest of the group and the unofficial leader, he wished she'd trust him, too.

"…Though by the looks of it," she continued, pulling him out of his thoughts. Her tone was haughty, "you were expecting some other deeply-guarded secret, huh?"

Dang.

He rubbed the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "Aheheh… Am I _that_ easy to read?"

"Like an open book," she replied promptly, jabbing the equivalent of a thumb in Oshawott's direction. "Almost as bad as that guy. And I bet that wasn't the only thing on your mind."

He could feel the fur on his neck stand erect. "O-Oh? Then what else?" he challenged.

She shrugged. "Beats me." Then her lips pulled into a playful smile. "Say, Pikachu, are you feeling alright? You're kind of red."

"I am?!" he squeaked, hands flying to rest on his cheeks. Warmth radiated from them. Seeing his expression morph into panic, she snickered.

"Maybe it has something to do with what you were thinking about…?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he blurted out. "Anyway, I get how you feel." He began tugging on the black tip of his ear to distract himself. "It almost looks like he's d—" He paused, letting go of his ear. "You know what? Let's not go there."

If she was suspicious about his sudden verbal backspace, she didn't show it. Instead, she turned to face the woods again. Her expression was contemplative.

"Oshawott's the sort of pokémon I'm prone to worrying about," she admitted. "He's a klutz at best, and a troublemaker at worst. I would say he's as bad as Axew and Scraggy, but those two are literal children, so…"

She beckoned for Pikachu to come closer. He did so, ears twitching curiously.

"Plus, Oshawott isn't the strongest battler here," she whispered. Even though he couldn't see her clearly, he just _knew_ there was a knowing smirk on her face. "He may act all macho and battle-hungry, but pit him against someone like Pansage and he'll run back to Ash in fear."

He chuckled. That _had_ almost happened in their first gym battle. Not that she needed to know.

"Don't tell him I said that, though," she warned, pulling away. "He'll throw a fit."

He grinned, making a zipping motion on his mouth with his paws.

She smiled back. "Good."

They fell back into a comfortable silence as she hummed to herself, considering her next words.

"Now that I think about it," she continued after a short while, "back in the lab, there were stories of a rambunctious oshawott. Something about picking fights with this other snivy and eating a week's worth of food. I like to think that the oshawott from those stories is our Oshawott. Sounds like the same idiot, anyway." She rolled her eyes.

"...If I didn't know any better, it almost sounds like you're condemning him."

She looked amused. "Not really. Sure, he's a disaster waiting to happen, but he can also be courageous and strong. I've seen glimpses of it. And he's really determined when it comes down to it, even if it's misplaced sometimes."

He nodded, having a general idea of what she was specifically talking about. "I bet you were worried when you heard he was searching for the cure to our poisoning last time."

"…Not exactly." There she was again, frowning and folding her arms. Her head was turned away, and her eyes seemed more slanted than normal. Her walls were finally up, possibly even higher than before.

Pikachu sighed. He'd been making so much progress, too.

Noticing his glum exposition, she finally said, in that characteristically terse way, "…A lot." Then her eyes snapped open, and she jumped back as if she had been burned. "Just because I had a bad omen about the lake!" she justified, arms poised in a defensive position. "Not because of anything else!"

Pikachu let himself smile. "Right…"

Snivy huffed. "You're probably gonna find a way to twist my words, or something…"

He blinked, confused. "What? I'm just glad that you're opening up."

Now it was her turn to blink. Her arms hung limp at her side as her mind whirred to process his words.

Before either could say anything else, they heard footsteps, then shouting. "Pikachu, Snivy, we're back!" Ash yelled, his hands full of Pecha berries.

"Sorry we took so long!" Iris called, giving Ash a pointed look. " _Some_ one decided to stray from the map…"

"Well, I'm _sorry_ I was holding it the wrong way!"

As the duo continued to bicker, Pansage hopped off Iris' shoulder and ran up to the two. "[Where's Cilan?]"

"[He'll be back, soon,]" Pikachu replied, scratching his cheek. "[In the mean time, wanna tell us about what they're fighting about?]"

The grass monkey visibly deflated as he slapped a hand on his forehead. "[Ohhhh man, this is gonna be a long one…]" He sank to the ground. "[Might wanna sit down for this…]"

So they did, and didn't stop chatting until Cilan returned with the basin of water and a basket of mushrooms (no poké ball motifs, thankfully) and berries.

(Pansage later said the look on Cilan's face when he laid eyes on the mountain of berries they'd brought back was almost worth the time it took to get them. _Almost_.)

* * *

"Yo, Pikachu!" A paw slammed onto the mouse's back, knocking the air out of his lungs. He nearly choked on his Oran berry, hands going slack and dropping it as he gasped for air. From the periphery of his vision, he could see Oshawott's shining face.

The otter's eyes glimmered when they noticed the dropped berry. "Oh, you don't want that anymore? Thanks!" Without waiting for an answer, he picked it up and popped the whole thing into his mouth, dirt and all. "Hmm… kinda earthy." He swallowed.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes to the back of his head, Pikachu asked in as friendly a tone he could manage, "What did you want?"

Oshawott blinked, then smiled. "Oh! Just wanted to say thanks for taking care of me when I was sick," he chirped, clapping his hands. "T'was really nice of you!"

Pikachu was a little surprised. "Um, thank you. But it was mostly Snivy looking after you, y'know. I just made sure she didn't… slap you in your sleep, or something."

The grin on his face slipped. "Huh? She wanted to slap me?"

Ack! "No no no no no!" Pikachu said hurriedly, gesturing. "I-I meant I just looked after everyone else! She's the one who was by your side at all times!"

Still, the grin didn't return to his face. "Huh, is that so?" He stayed quiet, a paw propping his chin as he fumbled with this new piece of information. Pikachu could see the gears in his mind shift into place. "…I didn't know she cared that much," he whispered, almost in complete awe. "I mean— I knew she didn't hate us, but…"

"Of course she does," Pikachu reassured. "Care about you, I mean. So you should be thanking her… I think."

"Cool, thanks!"

He watched as Oshawott ran over to Snivy, preparing a paw to slap her too, then pause. Snivy, noticing his presence, turned, raising an eyebrow. The otter jumped back, startled. He spoke in a rush, the words tumbling out incoherently. She stared at him for a few seconds before turning away again, a blush forming on her cheeks. (Pikachu had to reprimand himself for feeling so smug over her discomfort.) Her lip movement was brief, but clear:

_No big deal._

**Author's Note:**

> feedback is always appreciated! (and any comments to point out typos/spelling errors. i tend to write these fics in present tense before converting everything to past tense ^^;)


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